If you’re looking for very portable smoker on a budget, we recommend the Davy Crockett by Green Mountain Grills. However, if you’re looking for a small backyard smoker that you can use at the occasional picnic, tailgate, or cul-de-sac party, we recommend the Traeger Tailgater. We think the slight increase in cost is justified by the bigger grill space, which comes in handy if you’re using your smoker frequently or to cook for more than two people.

4 years ago I made a 700 hundred dollar mistake a bought a China made grill it never worked right from day one. My wife suggested that I should replace it. I decided I wanted a us made grill after seeing the yoder series and all of the great reviews I couldn't wait for it to arrive.so glad a bought the ys640 works like a dream, any one reads these reviews and buys another grill you have made a mistake

Sometimes, the ideal pellet is something that costs a little over $1 for quality but you can still save money by buying them in bulk (like in 40 pound bags). Half a pound of pellets per hour is consumed on the smoke setting that’s about 175° Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, you can burn 2.3 pounds of pellet within an hour by setting the temperature at 450° Fahrenheit (this is an average on many of the pellet smokers mentioned above).

Editor-in-Chief Sean McCoy is a life-long outdoorsman who grew up hunting and fishing central Wisconsin forests and lakes. He joined GearJunkie after a 10-year stint as a newspaperman in the Caribbean, where he learned sailing and wooden-boat repair. Based in GearJunkie's Denver office, McCoy is an avid trail runner, camper, hunter, angler, mountain biker, skier, and beer tester.

After an hour on tech support, taking the thing apart, they acknowledged the auger motor was bad and they would send me one. This would be FANTASTIC if I had owned the grill for a year or so and the company was standing by their product... but to insist on sending me a part to a BRAND NEW GRILL and having me replace it...Unacceptable. When I asked for a new replacement hopper system (I get it ... things break... and I'm willing to meet them halfway) they said no... just the motor. I would have kept it had they allowed me to swap out the entire hopper system but I shouldn't have to do surgery on a brand new piece of equipment. Please don't buy this poorly made (China) piece of trash.
The smoker is great. (5 stars) Assembly went well. It's pretty straight forward. Operation is easy as well. Just set and pretty much forget it. This is a large smoker. If you need space, this is the one for you. This is my first pellet smoker so I can't offer any comparison to others. I've used a Brinkman horizontal smoker for the last 20 years that has worked well but it was a pain to keep the smoke and temperature where you want. The constant tinkering was getting tiresome. The ease of use of the Camp Chef makes things so much more enjoyable.
At the end of the day, the act of heating pellets and generating smoke in any pellet smoker is pretty much the same. Yes, some pellet smokers use thicker metal, have better thermostats, air flow, racks, drip flow, etc. But the ask any professional BBQ cooker who uses a pellet grill, and they’ll tell you that the quality of your smoke really does come down to the pellets themselves. Here’s what one very astute BBQ pro had to say over at the Pellet Smoke Ring:
All this said, I believe the girls you are looking at already will both provide you with long lasting grilling and smoking satisfaction. Honestly, when you get to a point where are your in the price range that you are in, it’s really hard to choose a bad option with pellet grills. The biggest Advantage you have over the ones you’re looking at and the Yoder models is that they are heavy built giving you excellent heat retention over your Cooks.
I purchased a Traeger Lil Tex 22 yesterday. I “grilled” a whole chicken. It overshot the temperature by nearly a hundred degrees which wasn’t a bad way to crisp up the bird but I was afraid it was going to melt itself down so I shut it down. I was up by 5 this morning to smoke a pork butt for pulled pork sandwiches. My wife’s family is coming over for dinner tonight and time being a concern I fired up the “smoker”. It snowed 12 inches last night so the next hour I was shoveling my walks. Imagine my surprise when I checked on the Traeger and it had shut itself off . The meat was colt to the touch. I read through the instructions to make sure I started it up correctly and I did. I removed the meat and restarted the smoker. It smoked for awhile then quit. The temperature never got above 140. I called Traeger technical support twice and each rep gave me a different answer as to why it wasn’t working. After 3.5 hours I gave up on the Traeger for a more conventional method. I purchased the Traeger for the the set and walk away feature. It let me down!! It is 34 degrees outside today so I will wait until it warms up to try again. Should it fail me again I will sell it for scrap! So far I am not impressed. My wood smoker takes time but it is reliable.
Whether you're grilling steak and asparagus or fresh salmon; you want the most delicious flavor possible. The Stainless Steel Barb...ecue Grill Box will outperform other grills because of its patented heat-diffuser plate and cast iron grill grates. The heat diffuser converts flame to infrared heat, evenly heating the cast iron grill grate so your meat is seared to perfection. Grease is vaporized, infusing your food with a rich barbecue flavor that cannot be achieved any other way. A temperature gauge is built into the stylish stainless steel lid for convenience. The products are covered by the following warranty. Warranty covers all components of the stoves, fire pits, ovens and smokers to be free from defect in materials and workmanship for one year from the day of purchase (excluding finish). All accessories are covered for a full 90 days to be free of defect in materials and workmanship. Camp Chef: The Way to Cook Outdoors. read more

Hello.. You recommended a couple weeks ago to go with a GMG grill and that is the one I’m going with. I’m just a little torn between the DB and JB. They are only $150 apart but I’m not sure if the bigger size is worth the money when I can spend that on a cover and some pellets. Do you think the bigger size is worth it for a back yard smoker with the occasional party? I know people say bigger is better but I went bigger with my previous barrel smoker and it was much harder to keep an even temp with the bigger size. I would have went smaller given the chance. Thanks for any input!

Cooking Area – Search for one with a substantial cooking region. Keep in mind that pellet barbecues arrive in an extensive variety of sizes. In this manner, pick a unit that can meet your size necessities in light of its cooking territory. You don’t need to purchase an additional extensive unit in case you’re utilizing the grill for your home. Check for the physical measurements of the item and figure out which one can fit your space and stay aware of your cooking style and lifestyle.
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They had the field to themselves for a few years, but the idea was too good to go un-imitated, and soon competitors began popping up. In the early days, most pellet smoker controllers had only three settings—low, medium, high (LMH)—and there was no temperature probe in the oven to create a feedback loop. So, whether you were smoking a few slabs of ribs on a scorching summer day or six pork butts during a blizzard, the controller only knew pellet-feed on and off times for its standard settings. It had no information on the actual temperature inside the cooking chamber. Alex Coleman’s family has been farming in the Piedmont region of North Carolina longer than anybody remembers. The area is famous for “Lexington Style” barbeque, which focuses on pork shoulder barbeque served up with a variety of sauces based on ketchup, vinegar, and peppers. But Alex’s daddy taught him so much more than that about grilling and smoking...Read more
Is it customer support? I ordered a grill cover(made by a outside vendor in Kansas as well) for my YS640. It ended up with a small leak. I called Don, and by the end of the week I had a brand new one. Also, I was getting ready for my first cook on my brand new YS640, and I invited the whole family over for baby back ribs. I called Joe, and he talked with me on the phone for 20 minutes explaining how the grill worked, what temp to set the pit at, when to rotate the ribs and even which ribs will need to be rotated. Joe was spot on! Best ribs I have ever had!!!